13 Nights of Shocktober: The Golem (1920)

by A.J.

Night 1: Silent Horror Night

“He is my servant and my creation, called Golem. More I cannot say.”

The Golem (1920)

When it comes to silent horror films, the most famous are undoubtedly Nosferatu (1922), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). The Golem (1920) is usually not far behind, and it certainly belongs in the cannon of silent horror classics. Like Caligari and Nosferatu, The Golem is a German Expressionist film, a style in which filmmakers sought to visually express emotions or psychological state rather than reality. This film does not have the extremely exaggerated and surreal production design like Robert Weine’s Caligari, but eerie sights abound. It may not carry the same kind of scares as Phantom, Nosferatu, and Caligari, but its blend of folklore and fantasy make for an interesting film.

The Golem: How He Came Into The World: Pictures Based on Events in an Old Chronicle by Paul Wegener: Five Chapters, or The Golem for short, is the only surviving film of a trilogy by director Paul Wegener, who also played the Golem. The first film, The Golem (1915), was based on a novel by Gustav Meyrink that moved the medieval story to modern times, and the second, The Golem and the Dancing Girl (1917), was a comedy. This third and final Golem film was meant to serve as a prequel of sorts telling the most well-known version of the legend.

In the Jewish quarter of Prague, the wise and mystical Rabbi Loew (Albert Steinrück) reads in the stars that a catastrophe is looming over his people. Then a royal decree is announced demanding all Jewish people leave the city before the next new moon. So, Rabbi Loew creates and brings to life the Golem, a large hulking figure made of clay, to serve him and save the Jewish people of Prague. Of course, if Rabbi Loew loses control over his new servant, it could mean the destruction of not only the Jewish quarter but the entire city and beyond.

The scene of Rabbi Loew summoning the dreaded spirit Astaroth to force it to reveal the animating word for the Golem is creepy and nightmarish. The entire scene is tinted green and eerie flames surround Loew and his assistant. Astaroth appears as a giant stone head with a gargoyle-like face, smoke bellowing from its mouth. The Golem itself is an odd-looking creation. Like Frankenstein’s Creature, he is a larger version of a man but with a bulky body, grim facial expression, and helmet-like hair that would put Dark Helmet from Spaceballs to shame. Since the Golem is a servant, he starts out doing errands like going to the market, which is an amusing scene.

Another striking scene comes when the Golem encounters a little girl outside of the city gates. It is an especially tense moment because by this point the Golem has already killed someone and begun his rampage. It is strikingly similar to the scene in James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931) where the Monster encounters the little girl by the pond, though both creations are at different points in their journeys and the results are very different. Since no such scene appears in Mary Shelley’s novel and the Hollywood horror filmmakers of the early 1930’s were influenced by German Expressionist films (The Golem cinematographer Karl Freund would go on to direct The Mummy (1932) and Mad Love (1935)), it’s not unreasonable to think that Frankenstein drew on The Golem in direct and indirect ways.

Like many silent films The Golem suffered from neglect and deterioration and had to be restored from various versions found in film vaults across the world. It is in the public domain and can easily be found Youtube, however, quality restorations can be found on DVD/Blu-ray released by Kino Lorber. It is also streaming on Kanopy.